Introduction
There is nothing more exciting, enticing, disenchanting and enslaving than the life at sea. - Joseph Conrad
Sailors, particularly the nomadic variety, are considered in some circles to be a little deranged, deluded or even downright demented! How can you want to be away from the civilisation that provides and feeds the consumerism that we are told we must desire? We are so conditioned to the life we, as a society, have created that sometimes it is difficult to see beyond that or break free to do something different.
With my retirement looming it is time for me to start getting things ready to live out my long held dream of travelling the world on my own boat, taking my home with me wherever I go, a modern Sea Gypsy if you like. I want to see the world as it really is, not the sanitized and processed view of the world provided by the tourist and travel industry.
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot
Sure, there can be long periods of isolation while crossing oceans, but these crossings can be as few or as frequent as you want them to be. For me, eventually I'll cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean, but first there is Europe and the Mediterranean to explore, and after that there will be a few years worth of exploration in the Caribbean. Long passages and oceans are the exception, and there are always willing crew to be found if you look in the right places, so you need never be alone if you don't want to be.
"I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky.
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;"
Sea Fever by John Mansfield
Most of us dream of a home by the sea, I am lucky, because my home will be just that, with an added bonus of having an ever changing bit of sea to be beside. But not every anchorage, harbour or port is beautiful or pretty. There are times when the industrial has taken over, and there are also times to be grateful for these areas when works or repairs may be needed. But for the majority of the time I can seek out the isolated and secluded areas, alternating with the more pleasant waterside communities for a bit of shore side entertainment.
My old dad used to describe 2 types of sailor. There is the person who likes to sail, and the person who likes to arrive. I predominantly fit in to the second category, arriving in new bays, visiting new places and meeting new and interesting people. Of course to get there means you have to cast off the lines and leave behind friends both old and new, but after a week or two I start to get itchy feet to explore new horizons. I must go down to the sea again .....
But there is also a constant list of boat projects and maintenance to keep up with. The sea is one of the most corrosive environments on the surface of the planet, so maintenance of the boat and all of it's systems is paramount to my safety and security. Maintenance and upgrade projects form a large part of a sea gypsy's life.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did." - Mark Twain
There are still goals and targets involved but they are low key compared to the high intensity corporate life that most of us are exposed to in our working lives. Removing the stress and intensity of the "must do" philosophy allows for the freedom to do what is needed, or indeed desired, over what others demand makes for a much happier and less stressful time.
A sailing couple that I have been following for some years on social media, and even met briefly at Southampton boat show in 2019, Dan and Kika, have a sailing blog called Sailing UMA. At the beginning of their very first YouTube video blog (ok, Vlog if I must try to keep up with the techno geeks!) they made the decision to do one simple thing ….. Don’t Buy a Couch. Why? Well you have to watch the first Sailing Uma Youtube video [HERE] to get the full story, but once you buy the couch you start a circle of consumerism that will keep you trapped in a world of rising needs and debts and desires, just where ‘The Man’ wants you. If you go into debt to buy things the banks make a profit, if you save up to buy things the banks make a profit, every time money goes through a till the bank makes a profit. This is not an anti-establishment rant, simply my view on the system that rules our society. The only thing you can do is try to make the system, and what you have, work for you.
Of course, quitting your job and heading off into the sunset is not realistic for everyone, at least not at a moments notice. Children and families provide commitments that can be hard to build into this nomadic lifestyle, just as they have for me in the recent past But if the bug is really biting then perhaps it’s time to make things fit the plan.
This is the ever evolving and changing story of my plan …..
